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Should Canada Bring Back the Death Penalty for Violent Killers?

Posted By: Russ Courtney · 5/13/2012 7:07:00 PM

Outside the London courthouse on Friday after the Michael Rafferty verdict was announced (guilty on all counts), someone driving past the court house yelled out, "hang him."

There was similar reaction online with many calling for more than just life in prison with no chance for parole for 25 years for Rafferty, who will be sentenced on Tuesday.

But on Closing Arguments Sunday afternoon on Newstalk 1010, noted defence lawyer Eddie Greenspan said the death penalty is not the answer for those seeking justice.

"Revenge as a central theme for criminal justice policy is simply impermissible in our a country like ours, in a democracy, or any country where there is human dignity," said Greenspan.

He told host and Newstalk 1010 legal analyst Steve Skurka that life in prison is a terrible penalty and doubts someone like Rafferty or another violent killer would ever see the light of day again.

"They're not going to get parole someday. After 25 years they are eligible to apply for parole," he said. "I doubt if you're going to find a single Canadian 25 years from that's going to appointed to the parole board that will even listen to Rafferty."

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  1. Dave posted on 05/13/2012 10:34 PM
    We since long ago beyond simply being ignorant savages.

    Respect for human life is paramount and once lost we become nothing more than savages.

    In some parts of western world we are inching back to the "dark ages" as exhibited by such egregious acts as so-called humanitarian bombing (kinetic military action in Libya!), drone-killings of "terrorists" - no charges formally laid, no trial, no right to defend themselves.

    In the good old USA the state has already and can declare anyone on this earth a terrorist without having to produce a shred of evidence and assassinate them without any attempt at arrest or trial. And that is under command of their Nobel Peace Prize president.

    Some states are clearly at or beyond the point of being nor more than ignorant savages again. Hitler would be proud.

    Humanity must wake up and realize the direction it is heading before it is too late for all of us.

    To the man yelling from the car and those who would yell with him, please consider showing a little more respect for human life and not become ignorant savages.
    1. BilL posted on 05/15/2012 06:38 PM
      @Dave You want us to take terrorists to trial? Didn't they prove themselves guilty when they blew up innocents in democracies all over the world? Who speaks for the dead when we're busy tying ourselves up in leftist bureaucracy? Comparing the U.S to Hitler's Nazi Germany; you sir have gone completely off the rails.
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  2. Murray posted on 05/14/2012 02:28 AM
    How I am certain to be one to be for the death penalty for crimes like these, I also know by fact your chance for conviction is far greater than to serve time rather than death by any jury in the world.

    Also the appeal process for death row is outstanding and costs are enormous
    1. Dave posted on 05/14/2012 08:52 AM
      @Murray savage!
  3. warren posted on 05/14/2012 03:50 PM
    YES in maters where we have a confesion , or as in the last few dealing with children and are 99 % sure and ill even be an official executioner
    1. Dave posted on 05/14/2012 10:10 PM
      @warren I am not at all a religious person. No sky-dwellers for me.

      However you medieval minded fools ought to read past the old testament.

      I lost a child at 12. I get to suffer the pain of this loss for the rest of my life.

      I am not one to wallow in self pity. It is forever an inescapable fact what has happened. One can only try to accept that they will never accept what happened and try to accept that they will never know or understand why.

      The suffering that those of us who have lost never ends until we die. Why should it be any different for those who committed such heinous crimes?

      Remove them from the general population forever. No freedom. No chance for any form of personal gain. Only to rot in prison - it is the brain that rots, eventually they suffer mentally for what they have done. And even if due to some psychiatric ailment it is apparent they do not suffer it remains that they have effectively lost their life.

      The monetary cost of locking them up in the prison system is nothing compared to the ultimate price paid by victims. There are a great deak if useless wastes of taxpayer money far greater in cost than the prison system.

      For the sick savage creatures there is no deterrent, no cure nor should we attempt any. Just lock them up and throw away the key.

      And the ones so locked up forever should be offered no religion, no schooling, no work, no sport, nothing to read, no media, no entertainment. Just house them, feed them and let them rot.
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  4. SabriS posted on 05/14/2012 05:19 PM
    I used to be against death penalty. But, why would public spend over $100,000 per year looking after this criminal rather than getting rid of him. I think, in extreme cases, death penalty is justified and it could be deterring factor for other criminals.
    1. Brandon posted on 05/17/2012 01:13 PM
      @SabriS I want to state that the death penalty is not a deterrent. The people that doe these things do them without thinking of the consequence, or do them under the guise of thinking they will get away with it and no one will be the wiser.

      I also agree that $100,000 a year is a terrible cost per year (I assume you got that number from somewhere reliable).

      But Death is final. Life in prison can be reversed. There have been many cases where people on death row in the US got let off because evidence came up later that showed they were innocent.

      Also, the death penalty/appeal/red tape from what I understand costs even more than life in prison, sometimes in the millions. Millions that should be better spent elsewhere.

      So my solution? Make violent crime detention centers separate from non violent crime detention centers. Remove a lot of the comforts that violent criminals are afforded in prison, spend less on food and "luxuries". Drop the cost per year for a life in prison inmate to less than half of what it is currently, and make a life sentence mean life. No out in 25 years.

      Rapists, child molestors/pornographers, murderers/attempted murderers, extreme violent assaults. Those categories should get the crappy terrible conditions prison.

      Death isn't suffering, death isn't penance, death isn't justice. It's too easy for these people, because after death there is nothing. No regret, no thoughts, no pain.
  5. Caroline posted on 05/14/2012 08:15 PM
    I'd say no, but only because it seems to be a legal morass that takes years and costs a fortune. I agree with Mr. Agar when he said that what we should have instead is life sentences that mean 'until you die in prison', not eligible for parole in 25 years. Think about it you can commit a heinous crime at 18, and be out at 43. You have 30 years of freedom ahead of you if you don't commit another crime. Why is that even an option for some people?
  6. Walter posted on 05/14/2012 10:21 PM
    The obvious compromise is life that means life. The big problem is that Capital Punishment was replaced with Life, which was replaced with 25 years, which was replaced with mandatory parole after 15 years - all under PM Trudeau.

    Come up with a category of "not rehabilitatable" for certain murders (maybe all first degree murders, but probably only a subset of them). For this crime, it would basically be to lock them away and throw away the key so the cost would be much less than $100,000 per prisoner. It may also offer some incentive to plead guilty to regular murder. This would save legal costs and victim pain during trial.
  7. Lily posted on 05/16/2012 04:42 PM
    IT IS NOT FAIR!!!

    Child Murder and Raper should die, there is no doubt at all. for it is so obvious because the below logic:

    Being alive > Being dead (in a nice way).
    so there for
    Being alive > Being dead (after being raped and hammered).
    Let alone
    Being alive with free meals, gym, library ( no worrying about money) > Being dead (after being raped and hammered).

    My question: If you have to choose to lose your child's life right way (in a comfort way, no suffering) or letting her staying in prion for her life? Which one do you choose? I am sure, you'd rather she still alive,

    In Tori's case, she did not die in peace, she was abducted, raped and hammered to death), and her murders will still alive to the natural end of their evil lives and enjoying thinking back what they did to the little girl, enjoying free meals and nice facilities. Do you think it is fair?
    1. Dave posted on 05/16/2012 11:15 PM
      @Lily There is and never will be anything fair about it.

      I can tell you from personal experience losing a child is unbelievably traumatic and painful and it never ends. Never. You can never accept or rationalize what has happened it is impossible. I heard a familiar set of very difficult feelings in the victim's statements, had me in tears.

      Prison is supposed to be total loss of the freedoms and privileges of living in society. It is not supposed to feel like a free-ride.

      The idiot left-wing gutless liberal minded policies in this country have weakened our prison system to such a degree that as may be inferred from your writing all they lose is mobility.

      Fixing that would save money and keep us from becoming savages killing those who kill.

      Prisoners should get only food, water, shelter and no contact with the outside world.

      Were that to be the case the idiot left-wing gutless liberals would cry out that it is cruelty. Therein lies the problem.
  8. EdwardM_8180 posted on 05/17/2012 01:02 AM
    Violence is wrong. That very short sentence includes all of us and it means we must all learn to stop it and very immediately. And who is all of us? It is Michael Rafferty who is you and I, and the State. In other words violence is wrong if done by Michael Rafferty or the state. It is very wrong.

    EM
    Toronto
    1. Jimbobogie posted on 05/17/2012 10:48 AM
      @EdwardM_8180 Here in Canada, there's no excuse for people to be homeless-everybody is entitled to private room and board & 3 meals a day-all they have to do is kidnap, rape, torture and murder a youg girl or 2. It worked for Paul Bernardo (hell, his wife even got a university education!) and now it will work for Mike Rafferty.

      Now, if "Life in Prison" meant that you went in alive and came out DEAD, then I'd have a little more faith in the system. Also, these people should be serving their sentences in the general prison population. Isn't solitary confinement a violation of their rights under the good, old "Charter"?
  9. Carl posted on 05/18/2012 08:49 AM
    As a Criminal Justice student, I can tell you the death penalty does not work. It is not a deterrent, it will not stop these people from committing henious crimes.
    The United States in comparison has close to 4x the crime rate that Canada does. And the States that still use the death penalty have higher violent crime rates than states that don't use it.
    Death for these people is the easy way out. Even if there is the slightest chance of proper rehabilitation and treatment the should live. To feel regret. To learn. To understand what they did was wrong. We as society are bigger and better than "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth". Having a bunch of toothless eyeless people seems ridiculous.
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